“We have a variety of clients looking for durable, high
quality products with low maintenance costs,” said company
co-owner Corey Johnson, who became Walker’s business
partner in 2012. “We focus on environmentally friendly products
and maintenance-free materials.”
Johnson is also the company’s construction manager. He
says the majority of business comes from word of mouth, or
from someone who has bought waterfront property and is
now looking for access to the water.
“Up here, everything is pretty hotly contested on the
ocean,” said Johnson. “They must apply for specific permission
for moorage. Once we’ve obtained the permit – which
is quite a long process, maybe a couple of years – we work
within whatever windows we have with Fisheries and
Oceans Canada.”
Island Marine has a full fabrication shop, allowing the
company to do its own welding and most of its production
in-house. Aluminum and wood floats are built on site, with
concrete floats being the only dock component that is contracted
out.
When a permit is received, the company designs a dock
system that takes the location and the environment into
account.
“They apply for permission from the province and from
there, we design a system that fits with Fisheries criteria and
local by-laws, as well as the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands
and Natural Resources.”
Aluminum construction begins, dock float material
is ordered and foundations are installed by pile driving
or drilling.
Sometimes, Mother Nature presents some difficulties
when it comes to building docks.
“We just finished one up on the Sunshine Coast that was
challenging in terms of its location,” said Johnson. “It’s incredibly
exposed; all the pilings had to be drilled, which requires
an extra level of stability with the barge. We had a long run
of pilings that had to line up with each other and allow for a
structure to be built on them.”
Island Marine must also minimize any disruption to the
natural environment. That means designing greener solutions
and using products such as fiberglass decking surfaces
that transmit light to sensitive eelgrass beds, for example.
“We also make sure all of our equipment is well maintained
and that proper spill protocols are in place,” said
Johnson. “We use environmentally friendly hydraulic oils and
avoid any materials that are creosote-coated, so we emphasize
steel pilings.”
Sometimes, challenges come in the form of clients who
have elaborate plans or great expectations.
“We did a project up near Thetis Island,” said Johnson.
“It was a fairly large structure for a private facility. It incorporated
a variety of different foundation types – concrete
foundations, drilled pilings, it had a long walkway so there
was a lot of aluminum fabrication that had to match and line
up with straight lines. It was an exposed location, with a large
concrete float. From start to finish, it took quite a while, a lot
of back and forth early on. When the permit was completed,
it took about a year from there.”
Done right, done safely
Island Marine puts a heavy emphasis on safe operations.
“Safety is a big focus,” said Johnson. “We’ve gone through
the COR (Certificate of Recognition) safety certification process
and make sure we’re in compliance with our own health
and safety policy. We’re always at the cutting edge of safety to
find new ways to do things better and safer.”
Examples are daily tailgate meetings that address any
concerns and ensure that equipment is well maintained. A
safety committee meets every month.
In addition, “Every Friday morning, we will have a weekly
toolbox meeting where we talk about a specific piece of
equipment or operation we do, and review how to do it
safely. Sometimes it’s something simple like proper ear
protection or a drilling procedure. It gives everyone the
opportunity to talk about what went on and how to make
things better.”
COMPANY PROFILE
This long walkway required a lot of aluminum fabrication A dock project almost complete in November 2017
66 Q4 2017 www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.pilingcanada.ca
